


3 am

by cat_thy_yours



Category: Gintama
Genre: M/M, Weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:54:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25677676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cat_thy_yours/pseuds/cat_thy_yours
Summary: Gintoki has a dream.
Relationships: Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 9
Kudos: 41





	3 am

The sky was of a greyish pink color, barely lit by half-awakened stars. Around him laid a flat landscape stretching beyond immensity. Only a few trees, small and dead, sprung up from the ground to inflict a twisted sense of distance to the scene. He heard a soft creaking sound as he took a step and, when he looked down, he realized the floor was covered in layers of wet, rotten twigs. The air was humid, but there was no sign of life. Not even the sound of the wind could be heard, rustling ghosts of leaves that were no longer here. He knew the place to be unfamiliar, yet he recognized it anyway. 

_The place where birds cr_ _y_ _,_ he thought, taking in the scenery from a new perspective. _Fitting name._

He'd heard of the place, somewhere, but he couldn't remember. Focusing on the sky again, he noticed the stars had grown larger although their light remained as dim as before. In fact, they didn't quite look like stars anymore. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw them creep toward him, but when he looked again they hadn't moved an inch. 

He realized he was clenching his jaw when it started to hurt from the pressure. _I don’t like this._

Looking around once more, he saw only twigs and dead trees. A hint of panic tingled the back of his head. He needed to leave this place but there was nowhere to go. Steeling himself, he started down in a random direction, trying not to pay attention to the sound of his steps. The mute echo of twigs crumbling beneath his feet sounded more frightening than the silence it was breaking. 

He hurried. 

An instant later, he was faced with an ocean ridge. He hadn't realized it was near, and he let out a breath of hope. The water was as still as the soil it embraced, its surface a perfect reflection of the sky above. There seemed to be something, however, floating in the distance and approaching. Narrowing his eyes, he saw a small boat upon which rested a ragged wooden cabin. 

Desperate to leave, he started to wave and call for help in the boat's direction and was rewarded with a tiny figure appearing along its edge. The figure seemed to be waving also, as if calling for him to come. Relief blurred within urgency as he jogged to the water's edge. His heart was beating fast, almost painful as it drummed against his chest. He was almost there, almost safe, but he was going so slowly it seemed to never end. He had finally reached the water and begun to make his way to the boat when he realized with horror it's wasn't him being slow but the boat drifting further away. He cried for it to wait, to stay, to stop as he struggled through the waters already creeping up to his waist. 

"Give it a time!" He heard from the figure on the boat, and he recognized with mild surprise the voice to be Toushirou’s. "A time, Gintoki, or it won't flow!" 

Although he could hear them, he didn't understand the words Toushirou said. The waters were up his shoulders now and he couldn't even think through the panic swarming his head. Toushirou continued to shout but he didn't pay attention anymore. The water was still, without current nor wind to excite it, but it was as heavy on his limbs as a swamp's and it was getting harder to move through it. A spike of desperation shook his entire frame, arrows of fear piercing through his throat as the waters suddenly covered his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes under an unbreachable drape. 

Beyond Toushirou’s silenced pleas, he cast a final look above to see a star that had grown almost as large as the sky itself. 

* * *

Gintoki woke up with a start. He sat up, letting out a shaky breath as he ran a hand through his bangs. It came out wet, his hair moist with sweat. If he didn’t know better, he could almost believe it was what that damn water had left. 

“Gintoki?” 

Shifting sounds by his side informed him that Toushirou was awake. Gintoki wished he could reassure him and tell him to go back to sleep, but he couldn’t utter a word. His throat still felt like it was filled with water, as if he’d drowned for real and would choke from lack of air at any moment. 

“Gintoki, what’s wrong?” 

An arm encircled his back, warming it, anchoring it. He took a deep breath. 

“What time is it?” He asked, voice just slightly wobbly. 

“I don’t know,” Toushirou answered. “Maybe around three.” 

“Three,” Gintoki repeated in a whisper. “Three...” 

Rather than the sky, he felt the weight of that monstrous star push something up his throat instead. It engulfed him whole and he couldn’t resist it. 

Even as his lips twisted and his eyes closed, he couldn’t resist it. 

He brought a hand to his face. 

“You’re right,” he said, tracing the wet edges of his cheeks. “You’re right. It’s flowing.” 

From his eyes, the still ocean was finally pouring. 

Gintoki didn’t know if it really was three am. Maybe it was six, or one. Maybe it was all a dream. Maybe three am didn’t mean anything. Even so, he found that he didn’t care. 

As long as Toushirou held him in his arms, it was three am. 


End file.
